Palestinian protester shot dead by Israeli forces in West Bank

GRAPHIC WARNING: This post contains graphic images which some viewers may find disturbing.

Darren Whiteside / Reuters

Palestinians hold a flag and throw a stone in front of a mural depicting the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on the controversial Israeli barrier, during clashes with Israeli troops at Qalandiya checkpoint, near the West bank city of Ramallah on Sept. 23. Israeli security forces were on high alert after Friday prayers at a major Muslim mosque in Jerusalem and surrounding Palestinian districts given a deepening diplomatic deadlock over the Palestinians' application for U.N. membership.

Ronen Zvulun / Reuters

Israeli police officers detain a Palestinian man suspected of throwing stones during clashes in the Arab east Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras al-Amud Sept. 23. Israeli security forces were on high alert after Friday prayers at a major Muslim mosque in Jerusalem and surrounding Palestinian districts given a deepening diplomatic deadlock over the Palestinians' application for U.N. membership.

Jaafar Ashtiyeh / AFP - Getty Images

Palestinians evacuate a man who was shot dead by Israeli troops on Sept. 23, in clashes which erupted after Jewish settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Qusra, south of Nablus. The man, 37-year-old Issam Badran, died after being hit in the neck by a live bullet fired by troops according to Palestinian hospital sources.

From msnbc.com news services:

UNITED NATIONS — Nearly two decades after embarking on historic peace talks with Israel, Palestinians prepared to sidestep that troubled route on Friday to seek U.N. recognition of an independent state — hoping to leverage this dramatic move on the world stage to realize their dream of an independent homeland.

Earlier in the week, Palestinian President MahmoudAbbas rebuffed an intense, U.S.-led effort to sway him from the statehood bid, saying he would submit the application to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon as planned. A top aide, Mohammed Ishtayeh, said Thursday that Abbas asked Ban and the Council's Lebanese president this month to process the application without delay.

"We're going without any hesitation and continuing despite all the pressures," Abbas told members of the Palestinian diaspora at a hotel in New York on Thursday night. "We seek to achieve our right and we want our independent state."